Microsoft researchers have developed the next generation of the Kinect motion sensor - a device which turns any flat surface into a touchscreen.

微软公司的研究人员已经开发出下一代Kinect动作传感器。该设备能把任何物体平面转变成触摸屏。

 

The experimental sensor tracks movements on anything from a human arm to a wall and makes it into a mobile computer.

不管是在人的手臂还是墙壁上，该试验传感器都能跟踪其表面上的动作，并把使之成为移动电脑。

 

In tests users have been able to punch in numbers into a keypad projected onto their hands and write on a virtual “notepad” on a table.

在测试中，使用者能点击手掌上的投影键盘输入数字，并能在桌子上的虚拟笔记本上写字。

 

The researchers say it is the first step to one day doing away with the need to carry around a phone or a computer.

研究人员说这是实现未来无需随身携带手机和电脑的第一步。

 

Instead users could have what they need projected in front of them and use any flat surface as a workspace.

相反，使用者可以将需要使用的设备投影到面前并使用任何物体平面做工作台。

 

The device, called OmniTouch, is a wearable camera / laser projection system mounted on the user’s shoulder and connected up to a computer.

该设备叫做OmniTouch，是一种可佩戴的小型摄像机或激光投影系统。

它可安装到使用者的肩上并能和电脑连接。

 

It functions in a similar way to Kinect, the motion sensor gadget for the Xbox, in that the camera senses depth and movement.

它和Xbox的配件Kinect动作传感器的工作原理相类似，其内置摄像机能感知深度和动作。

 

This allows it to pick up when a user moves their finger in any direction or up and down.

这使得该设备能感知使用者任何方向的手指动作或是上下移动。

 

Currently the camera and the laser are rather chunky but Microsoft and a team from the Carnegie Mellon University, which developed OmniTouch together, say it could one day be “the size of a matchbox and as easy to wear as a pendant or a watch”,

目前这种结合了摄像机和激光投影仪的设备体积比较大，但是微软公司和来自卡耐基梅隆大学的研究团队（曾参与过OmniTouch的开发）称该设备未来会能制成火柴盒一样大小，可以向项链或手表一样穿戴在身上。